A global economy combined with immigration patterns and a strong advance in telecommunications technologies has created a growing demand for long distance and international telephone communications. Many consumers now have a wide range of options to communicate with their peers, families or friends. Wireless or cellular telephones have been used by a very large number of consumers in the market. This means a person is often communicating nationally and internationally through a cellular phone network. Most of the cellular carriers within the United States of America include a calling plan which includes continental long distance traffic at no extra cost. However, these carriers typically do not provide competitive pricing for international calling. When making an international call, the cellular carrier typically charges the caller a rather expensive per minute usage or toll fee.
Because of the increased demands for less expensive and better telecommunications services a lot of mechanisms have been implemented with the objective of cutting costs and improving the call experience. Technologies like voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and especially voice over internet protocols such as session initiation protocol (SIP) permits new carriers to offer the same benefit as the traditional incumbent carriers with less capital expenses. Even traditional telephone companies are expanding the available range of products and lowering their prices to keep themselves competitive in the market place.
The traditional telecommunications industry provides many ways to communicate internationally. These include dialing directly from a business phone, residential phone or from a cell phone. However, the rates for these types of calls are relatively expensive due to their usage fees.
Another method of making international calls has been through the use of calling cards. The calling card provides for a method to “dial around” the traditional or incumbent carrier. The calling card allows users to place calls from any telephone in the United States of America to any international destination and the calling card is used to pay for the call. The traditional carrier is in effect “by passed” or “dialed around”. Cards offer competitive rates and similar quality as the direct dial method. However, these calling cards require a lengthy process to initially make or place the call. A person is typically required to dial the telecom switch access number of the calling card provider and then enter a personal identification number (PIN) before entering the desired international destination number. As a result, the person may have to dial more than 35 digits in order to place a single call. These calling cards provide a less expensive solution but are tedious to utilize.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system where a person can dial around their incumbent carrier and call an international destination number just as quickly and easily as directly dialing the number and without incurring an international call usage fee from the incumbent carrier. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.